Commencing 1 September 2016, this three-year project will contribute to addressing imperatives to create a more flexible approach to student learning, assessment and certification across Europe’s higher education sector, in a way that will enhance graduate employability and improve levels of student satisfaction by allowing them to engage with real world issues in a sphere that is of considerable significance to many of them, that of social responsibility.Utilising the Benchmark Standards for University Social Responsibility across the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), that were produced in an earlier EU Lifelong Learning Programme funded project, the work of the current project develops the concept of facilitation of learning as a key to effective engagement of students as active agents of their own learning. Drawing on such agency and using a group of trained Facilitators, a cohort of 60 students drawn from the three participating universities will be trained as Social Responsibility Auditors in a student-centred, action-reflection learning based programme, delivered in blended mode. This will culminate in four Audits of different European higher education institutions, carried out by cross-national teams of the students involved. Satisfactory completion of the training, the linked audit and of the assessment requirements by means of production of individual e-portfolio of evidence of learning will see students awarded a Level 6 EQF Certificate in Social Responsibility Auditing.Integral to the project will be production of a significant, innovative Open Education Resource (OER) that will include a Facilitator Training Manual, an Auditor Training Scheme, an Auditor Manual and an Assessment Manual. The OER will be launched at a trans-national European Conference to be held in Spring 2019. The project will conclude 31 August 2019, with the OER being available for use across the territories of the European Higher Education Area from then on.This Innovation Strategic Partnership project is led by the UK’s National Union of Students, supported by the European Students Union, working with the University of Edinburgh (UK), the University of Porto (Portugal), Kaunas University of Technology and the Students’ Associations of these universities (EUSA, AEFPCEUP and KTUSA).
The European Students Sustainability Auditing (ESSA) project is a response to the developing commitment of higher education institutions and the growing interest of students in University Social Responsibility (USR). Recent trends in the conceptualisation of USR have generated a diversification and fragmentation of aims, objectives and practices. The Benchmark Standards for USR were developed through an earlier project as a response to this fragmentation of the field and as a guide to interventions in policy and practices. The Benchmark Standards identify USR as comprising actions under the four key themes of: - Research, Teaching, Support for learning and Public engagement - Governance - Environmental and societal sustainability - Fair practices The ESSA project empowers students as auditors of social responsibility using the Benchmark Standards. During the Erasmus+ funded period, participating students experienced a learner-centred training programme USR auditing followed by completing cross-national student audit of a European higher education institution. Participating students received an EQF Level 6 Certificate in Social Responsibility Auditing following satisfactory completion of the training programme, the audit and the Certificate requirements through a portfolio based assessment of learning. The objectives of the ESSA project have been to: Create an innovative approach to the recognition and validation of knowledge, skills (including soft skills) and competences; Produce a significant Open Educational Resource (OER) for a ECTS 5 Credit Certificate in Social Responsibility Auditing (EQF Level 6); Contribute to the wider process of developing alternative models of curriculum development. The project consortium consisted of 8 partners from higher education institutions and students’ unions, each bringing unique expertise and perspectives to the partnership: National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (project coordinator) The National Unions of Students in Europe University of Porto University of Edinburgh Kaunas University of Technology Edinburgh University Students' Association Kaunas University of Technology Students' Union Student Association from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Porto Project activities leading to the development of the OERs and the Certificate in Social Responsibility Auditing include: Facilitator training programme (FTP) - The FTP is designed to prepare participants for the development and delivery of the ATP with students at their institution. The training was delivered in early 2017 with 20 participants from 5 partner organisations. The pedagogical strategies focused on during the training mirror those adopted in the ATP, and include promoting group work, debate, problem resolution and individual reflection. The key output from this activity is the facilitator training manual which has been re-formulated as a self-directed course which can be adopted and replicated beyond the Erasmus+ funding. Auditor training programme (ATP) - During the Erasmus+ funding period, 73 students completed the ATP, with 60 going on to complete an audit of a university partner against the Benchmark Standards for USR. The development of the training was led by Kaunas University of Technology. The programme was delivered in blended mode ahead of each of the four audits. The training is designed as a series of units, which can be delivered according to a flexible timetable, covering the following aspects: Introduction to the project; Audits and auditing; Benchmarking criteria; Methods in auditing and audits; Audit simulation; Reporting. The resources produced as part of the OERs include a manual to support facilitators in delivering the training, alongside student-facing training resources. Audits - Key milestones for the project were the design and delivery of four audits of HEIs across Europe. Each HEI project partner has been audited by a team of students, as well as King's College London who acted as a test for the model in a non-partner organisation. University staff arranged an intensive audit week with 60 students participating from the 3 partner universities. The audit week comprised of interviews, focus groups and documentary analysis followed by a presentation to key university stakeholders. After the audit, auditors produce a report detailing findings and recommendations for the university. A suite of resources are available for student auditors and university hosts to support delivery of an audit. Assessment - The assessment process is tightly integrated into the student learning journey, and covers the auditor training and audits. It is based on an reflective experiential learning approach, with assessment realised as a structured e-portfolio. The e-portfolio has been designed to support students surface, validate and justify their claims for learning and competence. All resources are available for use by universities across the EHEA.